Chapter 3

Part 1

While the two were talking, the door to Lingling's room creaked open, and the little girl, hiding behind the door, was stretching her head out to peek curiously at them.

Ding Xiaowei waved at her, “Daughter, come here.”

Lingling ran over and was embraced by Ding Xiaowei. While sitting on his thigh, her eyes darted over to look at Zhou Jinxing.

Zhou Jinxing looked back at her with interest.

The little girl got embarrassed by his gaze, so she buried her face in Ding Xiaowei's chest, making Ding Xiaowei laugh.

Zhou Jinxing smiled and said, “What's the child's name?”

“Lingling, Ding Ling.” Ding Xiaowei put the child down. “You stay with Lingling for a bit, I'll go get her something to eat. After she’s done eating, I'll take you to the clinic to change the bandage.”

Ding Xiaowei went to the kitchen to quickly fry two poached eggs, and heated up some bread[1] and a meal came out of it, even if it was a bit messed up.

At the time he came in carrying the stuff, he discovered that his daughter was curiously grabbing and pulling Zhou Jinxing's hair, which had been shaved off in chunks, giggling happily.

Ding Xiaowei shouted in a loud voice, “Lingling!”[2]

The little girl promptly withdrew her hand, but Zhou Jinxing still had an indifferent smile on his face, “It's okay, she's very cute.”

Ding Xiaowei put the plate on the table, “Lingling, come eat.”

Zhou Jinxing glanced at the stuff on the plate, and said with a slight frown: “You’re only giving your child that to eat?”

Ding Xiaowei looked at the two gritty, badly made poached eggs, and gave an embarrassed smile, "How do I know how to cook, it was all something I had to figure out by myself after her mother left." After he finished speaking, his face was filled with a somewhat desolate expression.

Zhou Jinxing let out an ‘Oh’-sound, “You’re divorced?”

Ding Xiaowei scratched his head and said, “Yeah, her mother ran off with a rich guy... Hey, aren’t women just like that, if the old doesn’t go away, the new can’t come.[3] Come on, I'll take you over to change your bandage.”

Zhou Jinxing looked at the clothes on his body.

He was wearing Ding Xiaowei's clothes, and his pants’ legs were still a little short. He was someone who paid considerable attention to his image. It was uncomfortable enough for him to have his hair done like this, and then in addition to be wearing such a suit of clothes - he was surrounded by many people when he went to the hospital a moment ago, so now he really didn't want to go out.

Ding Xiaowei also realized this, “You come in here, I'll try to find you some clothes that’ll fit you.”

Zhou Jinxing followed him into the bedroom.

Ding Xiaowei rummaged around in the wardrobe for a bit.

He didn’t have many clothes in the first place, and after tossing and turning, there were only a few items to be found, and at the moment he was looking for it, he really couldn't find a suitable set for Zhou Jinxing.

Ding Xiaowei looked at the sweatpants he himself was wearing, and this was the only pair that was a bit longer.

“How about you put on what I’m wearing, sportswear is a bit looser.”

Zhou Jinxing frowned slightly, compared their bodies, but had no choice but to say: “Okay.”

Ding Xiaowei immediately bent over and took off his pants.

Zhou Jinxing froze, and he subconsciously took a step back.

Ding Xiaowei glanced up at him, saw his uncomfortable expression while he took off his pants and handed them to him, and said with a mischievous laugh, “Yo, still feeling embarrassed, eh?”[4]

He took the pants, staring motionlessly at Ding Xiaowei with a bit of embarrassment on his face.

Roaring with laughter, Ding Xiaowei said, “Aren’t you young fellow a big girl, huh? What are you embarrassed about, ah? Hurry up and change, which piece of your body haven’t I already seen, eh?”

Zhou Jinxing still didn't move, “Where is the bathroom?”

Ding Xiaowei scoffed at him: “What’s the matter with you, hurry up and take off your pants, I want to wear the pair on your body, saves me from having to wash an extra pair of pants, hurry up, hurry up.”

Zhou Jinxing lowered his eyelids slightly, and his long eyelashes cast a shadow over his eye sockets.

Ding Xiaowei urged him again, and only then did he reluctantly take off his pants, and then immediately replaced them with sweatpants.

When Ding Xiaowei bent down to put on the pants, a pair of straight long legs were entirely exposed. Zhou Jinxing looked upward along his ankles and saw long, slender calves, then bony, prominent knees, sturdy thighs, all the way to his tight ass and faintly discernible butt crack.[5]

Zhou Jinxing's eyes flickered, and he silently turned his head to the side.

After the two of them had put on their pants, Ding Xiaowei didn't forget to make fun of him. “When I was in college, there were twelve people in one dormitory, and every day there’d be a bunch of people walking around with their buttocks bare. If you’d been there acting like this, you’d be stripped of your pants every day.”

Zhou Jinxing smiled and said nothing.

After the two had switched clothes, Ding Xiaowei also went and found a hat for him to put on his head, and only then did they go out.

After taking him to change the bandage[6], Ding Xiaowei also took him to buy some daily necessities and clothes.

It was rare for someone so stingy to be so generous. He would even sell towels for ten yuan a piece. Yet as long as he thought of that sapphire ring that was still in his pocket, he had the confidence to spend money.

When the two of them came home after a busy afternoon, they were already carrying a bunch of bags in their hands with everything they needed to eat, wear, and use.

As soon as Ding Xiaowei entered through the door, he yelled happily to his daughter, “Lingling, today Daddy will make you something delicious to eat.”

The little girl happily bounced around them.

After Ding Xiaowei put down his things, he took out a cookbook and went to hide in the kitchen by himself to take care[7] of the food.

Zhou Jinxing tidied up his things, and when he looked up, he saw Ding Xiaowei's cell phone on the table.

He picked up the mobile phone, quickly browsed through it, and discovered that the cell phone couldn’t access the Internet.[8]

He silently put the phone back in place, got up and went into the kitchen.

-

Part 2

Ding Xiaowei turned his head when he heard the voice, and called out in a flurry, "You stay seated, it'll be there in a while... fuck!" When he threw the meat into the pot, the oil splashed all over his arm, but didn’t go to waste at all.

Zhou Jin walked over and found the shovel, "I'll do it."

Ding Xiaowei looked at him in surprise while rubbing his arm, "You know how to cook?"

Zhou Jinxing chopped vegetables with skillful movements and put them in the pan, put the ingredients in and stir-fried them. Not to mention how nimble and professional he was, when watching, Ding Xiaowei's eyes lit up.

He has seen many scenes on TV of beautiful women showcasing their cooking skills. This was actually the first time he watched a handsome guy cook, and he didn't expect it to be quite so eye-catching.[9]

Even when he was cooking, his back was still straightened, his head slightly nodding, and his long and slender fingers wielding a kitchen knife and spatula also had an elegant air about them. It was as if he was not cooking, but sculpting a work of art.

This person is just different, Ding Xiaowei thought.

He asked casually, "Hey, are you Chinese?"

Zhou Jinxing tilted his neck and glanced at him, "Yes."

"You’re mixed-blood, right?"

Zhou Jinxing didn't lift his head, and gave a perfunctory "Yeah".

"Mixed-bloods are good-looking, when you’re like this it's a waste not to be a star."

Zhou Jinxing smiled and said nothing.

"You need to use your brain more, hurry up and recall what you forgot, the family who lost such a beautiful son as you must be anxious enough to die[10]."

Zhou Jinxing stared at the dishes in the pot attentively, and an imperceptibly sarcastic smile slowly emerged from the corner of his mouth.

When the dishes were brought to the table, Lingling's eyes widened.

She asked her father in sign language, "Did you make this?"

Ding Xiaowei said, "This uncle made it."

Lingling glanced at Zhou Jinxing, ran over to her small desk at lightning speed, took a pen and wrote a few words, then ran back and handed the paper to Zhou Jinxing.

A few words were written crookedly on it, "Shushu[11], you can also cook in the future."

Zhou Jinxing couldn't keep his laughing from coming out, and stroked her head: "Okay."

Ding Xiaowei pursed his lips, "Daughter, you don’t like dad’s cooking?"

The little girl grinned and ran to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Zhou Jinxing looked at her back and asked casually, "How old is she?"

"Almost five years old, and going to preschool."

"She can hear, but she can't speak?"

"Yeah." Ding Xiaowei replied in a gloomy voice, "She had a bad fever when she was small, she’s not born this way." He didn't seem to want to say more, picked up a mouthful of vegetables and gave a thumbs up: "Damn, this is really delicious. During your life... No, pei, what did you do before?"

Zhou Jinxing shook his head, "I can't remember at all, let’s eat."

Lingling probably hadn't eaten a decent meal in a long time. Her little elephant bowl was filled twice and she ate it clean.

While Ding Xiaowei was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen, he could see Zhou Jinxing and Lingling playing in the living room when he turned his head.

Lingling pushed down the toy blocks she had piled up, giggled at Zhou Jinxing, and then assembled them again by herself.

Zhou Jinxing was also very patient and smilingly accompanied her in playing.

Ding Xiaowei couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect this person to be quite so good at coaxing children. He was originally worried about whether it would be inappropriate to leave a stranger at home, but now he had even put a decent meal on the table. Ding Xiaowei really hoped he would stay a few more days.

When it was time to go to sleep at night, Ding Xiaowei felt it was a little difficult to handle.

The home only had two bedrooms, and it was impossible for anyone to squeeze into the small bed with little Lingling. It would be even more unrealistic to sleep on the small sofa every day. But having two gentlemen sleeping together in a double bed, besides being crammed, only listening to a story like this would make a person feel uncomfortable.

Zhou Jinxing also appeared to be quite worried, staring at the bed in a daze.

Ding Xiaowei indeed found that there was nothing to be done about it. "Let's just squeeze in first. Don't be unwilling, no one has slept in this bed except my wife."[12]

Zhou Jinxing said: "Why don't I sleep on the floor."

Ding Xiaowei had already begun to undress on the other side, "Don't bother, there is no extra mattress for you at home, it's not a problem for two people to sleep in this bed, hey, you don't like to be crowded when you’re sleeping?" While speaking he had already stripped off all his clothes except a small pair of underpants.

Zhou Jinxing was shocked, "You..."[13]

Ding Xiaowei lay down directly on the bed, "Today I'm completely exhausted[14]. Say, how are women able to go shopping like that? I only accompanied you to go buy a few things today, I'm more tired than if I had been driving a long-distance car... I'm going to sleep first, ah. "

Zhou Jinxing hesitantly said, "Aren't you going to take a bath?"

Ding Xiaowei muttered, "I just washed yesterday."

Zhou Jinxing took his pajamas and went to the bathroom to shower.

By the time he came out, Ding Xiaowei was already lying on the bed, sprawled out on his back, apparently he had already fallen asleep. Because the weather was hot, he had pulled a corner of the quilt over his stomach, while his limbs and chest were left exposed.

Zhou Jinxing looked at his sturdy chest and those two long, big legs, not knowing where to put his eyes.

Ding Xiaowei’s looks couldn’t be considered outstanding, but his facial features were particularly manly, his skin was tight, his nose was perfectly straight, and he had an inch of hair from a 5 yuan worth of hair cut[15], giving him an energetic and heroic look. Additionally, he was almost 1.8 meters tall without any excessive fat on his body. If you would fix him up carefully, he would definitely be able to fascinate a bunch of both unmarried women and young wives.

It was a pity that being a divorced man with a child, it was already hard work to prevent the home from being turned into a doghouse. There was no time to clean himself up, and it was common for him to not change clothes or shave for a few days. During these confused days, Ding Xiaowei himself had even forgotten that when he was still in school, he was the type that young women would fancy.

It was only at this time that Zhou Jinxing felt that he might have made the wrong decision.

Hiding in a place where they couldn’t trace him was indeed considerably advantageous to him, but as a natural gay guy, he truly couldn't turn a blind eye to such a sexy body, though the present moment was obviously not a suitable time for a love affair[16].

-

Translator’s note 1: Jinxing, I feel your pain, but you totally brought this on yourself.

Part 3

Zhou Jinxing took a deep breath and pushed Ding Xiaowei's shoulder, "Ding Ge."

"Huh?" Ding Xiaowei woke up suddenly and gave him a dazed look, "Oh, you're done washing."

"Yeah, go back to sleep."

Ding Xiaowei yawned, turned over, and pointed his back and butt at Zhou Jinxing, completely unguarded.

Zhou Jinxing couldn't help but glance a few more times before turning over and lying down on the bed, pulling the quilt over his body and compelling himself to go to sleep.

As soon as he lay down, Ding Xiaowei turned his body around and Zhou Jinxing instantly felt his thighs against his pajama pants, and the warm body temperature seemed to be transferred to his skin through the thin fabric.

"Damn, it's so hot, the wind blowing out of the electric fan is always hot."

Zhou Jinxing didn't speak, frowned and closed his eyes.

Probably both of them were tired today, and they fell asleep after a little while.

In the middle of the night, Zhou Jinxing was woken up by the sound of snoring.

He opened his eyes in a daze, felt that his body was sticky with sweat, and there was something especially heavy pressed against his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. And the snoring next to his ear was subdued, rhythmic, and extraordinarily loud, like thunder.

He turned his head to look. Ding Xiaowei's sleepy face was close at hand, his arm was placed across his chest, he could even feel a piece of soft flesh on his thigh and hip bone. Zhou Jinxing's whole body tensed up.[17]

He moved Ding Xiaowei's arm away from his own body. At first he also wanted to retreat further to the side, but found that he had been pushed to the edge of the bed, and if he retreated, he would fall off the bed.

From childhood to adulthood, he has never slept in the same bed with another person. The first time he slept with someone, it turned out to be someone with such a bad sleeping posture. It was really hard on him.

Zhou Jinxing took a deep breath and ruthlessly kicked Ding Xiaowei's calf.

Ding Xiaowei quivered and the snoring immediately stopped, but he didn't wake up. Zhou Jinxing took the opportunity and hurriedly kicked him over to the other side.

Seeing that it was still dark outside, and sleeping next to him was a naked man who snored incessantly and wasn’t well-behaved, it was obvious that he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Zhou Jinxing rolled over and got out of bed, poured himself a glass of water and stood on the balcony, looking thoughtfully at the sky before dawn.

When Ding Xiaowei was woken up by the alarm clock, he discovered that the place beside him was already empty.

When he got up, he saw that Zhou Jinxing was neatly dressed, sitting on the sofa reading an outdated newspaper, and breakfast was already put on the table.

This excited Ding Xiaowei, he pointed to the congee on the table, "This, this is made by you?"

Zhou Jinxing didn't look up, "Yeah, you have to go to work today, I've already woken Lingling up, she's washing her face."

Ding Xiaowei looked at him in disbelief, and was moved almost to tears.

Since his wife ran away, this was the first time someone had cooked for him in the morning. Zhou Jinxing looked like a master who was born to be served by others, but unexpectedly, he would get up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for him and his daughter. This kind of shock made Ding Xiaowei dumbfounded.

Ding Xiaowei, feeling embarrassed, walked over to face him, "Xiao Zhou, thank you ah, you see it's been almost two years since Ding Ge and his wife were separated, and this is the first time someone cooks for me..."

Zhou Jinxing raised his head and smiled at him, "Then go eat."

"Okay, have you eaten?"

"I have already eaten."

"Then I'll wait for Lingling to come out, we’ll eat together. Hey, what are you reading?"

"The news."

Ding Xiaowei glanced at the entertainment page in the expired newspaper. It was a gossip about a wealthy family surnamed Zhou[18]. "Hey, that old fellow is still letting loose[19] in his seventies. It's really not bad, sooner or later he will die in bed."

Zhou Jinxing exposed a mocking smile, "Probably."

Ding Xiaowei casually said: "He is going to die, and his descendants will break each other’s skulls fighting for the inheritance."

Zhou Jinxing put down the newspaper with an indescribable glint in his eyes, and said in a slow voice, "Yeah, could be..."[20]

[2] I added a ‘!’ here, since it makes more sense in English. Since grammar symbols like ‘?’and ‘!’are kind of embedded in Chinese already through the use of characters, I always feel some Chinese writers use them randomly – so could imagine SQC just forgot it here. Also because the verb for shouting is 喝道, which is what one would previously use for shouting to make way on the street for officials. So it’s a bit funny that it’s used like this in the text.

[3] 女人不就这么回事儿，旧得不去新得不来呗 – not sure I got this exactly right, but I think the meaning is like that, because it’s typical of DXW that he downplays how hurt he actually is. And this is why I like our MC – he’s not very educated, he’s a bit dumb and naïve sometimes, but he’s been hurt by life (and there’s more to come *sigh*) yet still he’s a resilient character who tries to make the best of it and be strong for his child, and he doesn’t complain about his misfortune

[4] 不好意思 can also mean ’I’m sorry’, so not 100% sure if DXW is off-handedly apologizing for making ZJX feel awkward, or teasing ZJX for feeling awkward. I think it’s the latter considering the context though

[5] So ZJX basically got himself lodging with a DILF – and he’s only now realizing he may have a problem now due to the MC’s hot body, LOL

[6] Raws say 药, which is literally medicine, but according to the context it would be bandage, so I’m going with that

[7] 自己躲厨房捣鼓去了 – changed it slightly here - 捣鼓 can also mean to fiddle with something. Meaning that DXW probably doesn’t really know what he’s doing when trying to cook

[8] Dude, you know you can ask to borrow it, right? Why are you being so shady?

[9] Uhm, DXW, are you sure that you’re straight?

[10] using死 – ’die/dead’is an expression, it simply means ’extremely‘ or ‘a lot’

[11] This 叔叔/shushu is also what DXW just called ZJX, but I’ve decided to use pinyin when it’s a direct form of address and the English word when the characters are speaking of a person

[12] Hmm, not sure the implications of sleeping in DXW’s former marriage bed makes things easier for poor Jinxing.

[13] Oh no, trapped in a small bedroom with a hot, half-naked man – poor Jinxing😉

[14] Actually ‘tired enough to die’, but sounded a bit awkward here – also love how ZJX is starting to panic and DXW is totally oblivious, LOL

[15] I’m sure I didn’t get this sentence completely right, couldn’t make sense of it and the MTL was gibberish, but it seems that the sentence is about his hair – raws say 五块钱剃出来的板寸长在他脑袋上

[16] Actually it’s 风花雪月 – wind, flower, snow and moon

[17] Hahaha, I swear at this point the author is just trolling our poor ML

[18] Just want to point out that the name here is 周, the same Zhou as in ZJX’s last name. Seems quite the coincidence, right?

[19] 风流 can also mean ’romantic/amorous’ or ’licentious’ or ’unrestrained’ – I picked a phrase that seemed closer to what someone like DXW would say

[20] If you didn’t catch the shady vibes coming off our ML before, the author is giving us another big hint.